


You Will Be The Death Of Me

by cordeliadelayne



Category: Primeval
Genre: Date Interrupted, Dinner Does Not Go According to Plan, F/M, First Date
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-09-11
Updated: 2016-09-11
Packaged: 2018-08-14 10:46:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,280
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8010661
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cordeliadelayne/pseuds/cordeliadelayne
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There's never a dull moment with Nick Cutter around.</p>
            </blockquote>





	You Will Be The Death Of Me

**Author's Note:**

  * For [reggietate](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=reggietate).



> Written for reggietate who gave the prompt: "a drink after work has unexpected consequences".
> 
> Originally posted to Livejournal in 2010.

Jenny stared down at herself and bit her bottom lip to stop from crying. A brand new shirt completely ruined. There were tears along her right arm, slime and blood trailing down the front and, ugh, she shivered, into her bra and she dreaded to think what her face must look like – she could already feel her right eye starting to swell.

If this was what going on a date with Cutter was like, next time she would definitely pass.

**Two Hours Earlier**

“So,” Cutter said. He cleared his throat and looked down at Jenny. She was sitting at her desk, re-reading her report of the day's activities and making sure that everything was in order. She knew from experience that hers was the only one Lester ever really paid attention to, as it was generally the only one that used full sentences.

“So?” Jenny repeated. She placed her pen carefully back in its holder and turned to look at him. He was dressed in a dark t-shirt and jacket and black jeans. Jenny raised an eyebrow.

“I was wondering if you would like to join me for a drink? Tonight. With me.”

Jenny bit her lower lip to stop from smiling. “All right. Meet you downstairs in half an hour?”

Cutter's face registered his surprise and then his relief. At least I'll never be unsure of how he feels, Jenny mused.

“All right,” Cutter said. “Yes. That's, see you then.”

One day she would have to ask him how he ever managed to ask his wife out. And then she frowned at herself. No, any thoughts of Helen Cutter were definitely forbidden.

She went over to the small locker she kept in her office and removed a black skirt and tights. Then, ensuring the blinds were all closed she quickly changed. She applied some light lipstick and a hint of blusher before declaring herself done. Her hair she simple tousled with her fingers.

That settled she headed downstairs. Outwardly confident she was a little worried about what this night might entail. She and Cutter had made plans before, and each time they had been waylaid either by dinosaurs or the ghost of Claudia Brown.

Her breath hitched when she saw Cutter though and she cleanly dismissed any thoughts of her phantom twin.

“Jenny, are you okay?” Cutter asked and Jenny closed her mouth.

“Of course. You're looking...” She waved a hand at him, taking him all in. She'd thought he'd looked good in her office, but now that he had changed, good wasn't the word. His hair was ruffled just the way she liked it (though she wasn't about to tell him that) and he was wearing a surprisingly stylish grey suit (she imagined Stephen had had more than a say in that) and he looked positively edible.

A hint of colour sprang up on Cutter's cheeks. “Thanks,” he mumbled. “You look lovely.” They stared at each other for a moment before Jenny giggled and Cutter smiled. “Aye, let's get going shall we?”

Jenny nodded and took Cutter's arm, pointedly ignoring a soldier's wolf whistle. The last thing she needed was for the staff to be gossiping about her and Cutter, but she supposed that was inevitable now.

* * * * *

The bar Cutter had chosen was, to Jenny's evident astonishment, perfect. It had just the right lighting so you could see your companion but not all their flaws, just the right volume of music so you could actually hear what your companion was saying, and a tasteful decor that Jenny most heartily approved of.

“This place is delightful, Cutter,” she told him.

“I think you can call me Nick, tonight,” he told her and she flushed and smiled at him.

“Yes,” she said, “I suppose I can.”

They smiled at each other and then finally the spell was broken and Cutter lead her to a small alcove at the back of the bar. Jenny sat down with a smile and immediately picked up the wine menu as Cutter took off his jacket and laid it on the back of his chair. Jenny then looked up, about to suggest a certain brand of wine, when her evening took a definite turn for the worse.

* * * * *

The anomaly popped into existence without a sound. One moment their corner was bathed in a low light, the next the swirling lights of the anomaly were right above them, casting an eerie glow around their table.

Jenny opened her mouth to say something, though she wasn't sure what. Thankfully they were in a dark enough corner of the bar that so far no one had noticed the unusual light feature hovering above them.

“My god,” Cutter murmured, shocked into stillness just as Jenny was. But it was she who received the brunt of the sludge as it fell from the anomaly, and coated her completely. And it was she who stared down at herself, unable to move under the onslaught, barely thinking of anything but the cold feeling of the slime as it dripped down her body and into crevices she'd really rather not think about.

Seconds passed but they felt like hours and then, just as suddenly as it had appeared, the anomaly vanished.

Jenny blinked, the slime heavy on her eyelids. Cutter just stared at her, then belatedly around at the bar, to see if anyone had noticed, but no one was looking their way and there were no shouts of alarm, so the anomaly's appearance had apparently occurred unnoticed save for the two of them.

Jenny stared down at herself and bit her bottom lip to stop from crying. A brand new shirt completely ruined. There were tears along her right arm, slime and blood trailing down the front and, ugh, she shivered, into her bra and she dreaded to think what her face must look like – she could already feel her right eye starting to swell.

If this was what going on a date with Cutter was like, next time she would definitely pass.

“Are you, are you all right?” Cuter asked. He stepped forward and pulled his jacket from the back of his chair, waving it in her direction not unlike a matador facing a bull.

“That's not going to help,” Jenny hissed, but she took the jacket anyway and took great satisfaction in the squelch it made as she wrapped it around her shoulders.

Cutter frowned but didn't say anything.

“We should call the ARC,” Jenny said after a moment. “And I need to get changed.”

“Yes, yes, of course,” Cutter agreed. “Do you...” He stopped, Jenny's glare effectively silencing him. He didn't really know what he was going to say anyway, so he just tried to manoeuvre her out of the back door of the bar so that they wouldn't come face to face with anybody. Which worked, up to a point, though a startled waiter did take a leap back when he saw the state Jenny was in. But he was too dumbstruck to say anything and Jenny and Cutter were able to get inside Cutter's car (which would never be the same again) and head towards Jenny's flat.

“We never speak of this,” Jenny told Cutter quite firmly as they pulled up outside her flat, after a journey spent in complete silence. “You're running out of chances,” she added as she started to leave the car and firmly slammed the door behind herself.

It took a moment for her words to sink in, but once they had, Cutter smiled. Not a wasted evening after all.

And if there was something endearing about Jenny looking so rumpled, he'd never mention it.

Not when she was within arm's length, anyway.


End file.
